It’s ‘The Team Up North’ week for Douglass; Pikeville takes its shot against LCA

Here’s a look at some of the best high school football games of Week 6 beginning Sept. 24, according to high school sports writer Jared Peck. All rankings are according to the Herald-Leader’s Dave Cantrall Ratings.

Games of the week

No. 17 Scott County (2-2) at No. 5 Frederick Douglass (5-0), 7:30 p.m.: When Frederick Douglass began playing football in 2017, it quickly marked the Cardinals as its chief rival.

Never referred to by anyone at Douglass as anything other than “The Team Up North,” the Cardinals ousted the Broncos from the playoffs each of the first two seasons. It’s been all Douglass since.

In this week’s Broncos media guide, all references to Scott County are abbreviated simply as “TTUN.” It’s an ode to rivalries like Ohio State-Michigan in college, but it’s also a sign of respect.

“I think it’s a fun rivalry-type thing,” Douglass Coach Nathan McPeek said. “I’ve been part of those in other coaching environments and other high schools. I know they don’t view it as that, but I think it’s the ultimate sign of respect because of the program, Coach (Jim) McKee and what he’s built and what they stand for in football.”

Douglass begins district play against Scott County undefeated and rated No. 3 in the KHSAA’s RPI standings, which at season’s end will be used to seed the playoffs beginning in the third round.

Last year, an early loss to North Hardin and COVID-19 cancellations by all five of its bigger, Class 6A city rivals (which if won could have been a significant ratings boost) meant that an underrated Douglass had to play the 2020 postseason on the road in the district finals, region finals and state semifinals rounds of the Class 5A playoffs.

The Broncos almost lost in a rain-soaked mud bog at Southwestern in the regional and then fell at Owensboro in a semifinals game that went down to the closing seconds. McPeek hopes to avoid such a fate this season.

“We probably can’t afford to lose any games if we want to be the No. 1 in the RPI,” McPeek said. “We’re playing The Team Up North this week and then you’ve got Great Crossing just below us and then Boyle County at the end of the year. If we’re fortunate enough to win all those games, I can’t imagine us not being near the top for sure.”

Douglass quarterback Samuel Cornett, a 6-foot-6 senior who just received his first Division I offer from Butler, will play a large role in that effort. Through four games, Cornett has thrown for 845 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception. He’s also notched positive yardage in the run game and gotten a rushing TD.

“Samuel is playing at a very high level,” McPeek said. “He’s a great kid. He’s already got a 29 on his ACT. He’s got a 3.8 grade point average. I’m really shocked more schools aren’t in on him in the Power Five.”

It also helps that junior Cameron Dunn (256 yards, four TDs) has emerged as a receiving threat alongside coveted senior wideout Dane Key (234 yards, three TDs).

Tuesday’s bomb hoax at Douglass and three other Fayette schools meant one less day of practice for McPeek to prepare his team for Scott County’s deceptive and devastating wing-T run-dominated offense.

After losses to Franklin County and Bryan Station this season, the Cardinals responded with dominating performances over Lafayette and Paul Laurence Dunbar. The Cardinals were led by running back Montago Jones’ 100 yards rushing last week and got fifth-year senior Campton Martin back from injury.

Douglass counters with a defense that has been one of the stingiest in Class 5A each year and has two shutouts this season.

“We’re playing really well,” McPeek said. “I think we’re much improved just in our efficiency and things like that. I just hope we don’t lose that type of momentum by not playing last week and, obviously, not practicing (Tuesday).”

No. 15 Pikeville at No. 8 Lexington Christian, 7:30 p.m.: Class A No. 1 Pikeville gets the unenviable task of taking on perhaps the hottest team in the state.

“I know LCA is a very good football team,” Panthers Coach Chris McNamee said. “It’s a great challenge for us and we’re going to try to compete.”

LCA has beaten a who’s who of top teams this year, including Christian Academy-Louisville, Boyle County and Lexington Catholic.

Pikeville’s no slouch either and returns the bulk of its offensive production, including quarterback and coach’s son Isaac McNamee, the 2019 state title game MVP. He’s thrown for 630 yards and 10 TDs this season. Running back Blake Birchfield already had 705 yards and seven TDs rushing in four games.

Pikeville got upset by Hazard in last season’s district finals. It was a hard lesson.

“We started believing some of the things people were saying about us and then we started looking forward to things we thought were going to come (and they didn’t),” McNamee said. “We’ve just got to take it week by week. We learned that the hard way last year.”

Mercer County (4-1) at No. 23 Christian Academy-Louisville (4-1), 7:30 p.m.: Each of the last two years, Mercer County has pulled off a regular-season upset of the higher-ranked Centurions only to lose the rematch in the playoffs.

But Titans Coach David Buchanan doesn’t plan to change his approach.

“Doing this for 30 years, there’s always one simple answer, and it’s ‘get better,’” Buchanan said. “That’s the bottom line, we’ve just got to get better. We haven’t been good enough to beat them the last two Novembers.”

Mercer shrugged off a Week 2 defeat to Bryan Station and has won three straight, including a 22-21 victory over highly regarded Southwestern. Trosper Buchanan leads a balanced attack with 512 yards and six TDs passing to complement a run game that features Brayden Dunn, who has 462 yards and five TDs rushing.

Christian Academy-Louisville has only lost to Class 2A juggernaut LCA and has a future Division I athlete in Easton Messer, who has 376 yards and five TDs receiving to go with 141 yards and two scores on the ground

No. 4 South Warren (3-1) at No. 14 Central (3-2), 7:30 p.m.: The Yellow Jackets have six state titles. The Spartans have two. Each gets a check of their title hope bona fides this week.

Rivalries of the week

East Jessamine (1-4) at West Jessamine (2-2), 7:30 p.m.: Second-year Colts Coach Scott Marsh didn’t really experience the full effect of Jessamine County’s friendly civil war last year, but he did get the win.

“Me not being from here, it’s always interesting to see how these rivalries develop and how these kids get so excited about the game,” said Marsh, who got the Colts’ first win in the rivalry since 2014 in front of a COVID-19 restricted crowd. “It’s not just the kids on the team, but the entire school.”

Marsh is looking forward to hosting this year’s game in front of a lot more fans. And both teams are looking to turn a corner from some mixed results as their seasons enter district play.

“We’re just trying to get our best 11 on the field and get our pieces in the right spot,” Marsh said. “This is kicking off the second segment of the season as far as we’re concerned.”

East and West have been going at it since the old Jessamine County split in 1997 with the new school, East, getting the better of it with 15 wins to West’s nine.

“The kids share classes at a technical school together. They’re literally in our building and we’re in their building. And it’s really not that big a town,” East Jessamine Coach Mike Bowlin said. “When we play this game, it’s the biggest event in town for the whole year and probably the biggest collection of people at a sporting event all season.”

The game has always been a big deal and is even more so because it’s also an important district rivalry, as well. But there have been some years where the game has taken on too much importance, Bowlin has observed.

“I realized that we hyped the game up so much that when the game was over my kids kind of looked at me and went, ‘All right, we won. That’s it,” Bowlin said. “There were some years that we won that game and we were kind of done.”

But with five straight wins in the series from 2015 to 2019, Bowlin has had time to figure that out.

“I know how we’re going to approach the game,” Bowlin said. “Still, it’s a little special. I’m not going to have any trouble getting them fired up in practice today.”

Trinity (0-5) vs. St. Xavier (3-1), 8 p.m.: This week marks the 89th meeting between these Louisville private school behemoths and it will be held again this year at the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Stadium. The Shamrocks lead the series 48-38-2 and have won 17 of the last 19, but the Tigers seem to be the favorites this season with Trinity rebuilding after back-to-back Class 6A state titles.

Other rivalries of note: Newport Central Catholic at Newport.

Other Lexington games

▪ No. 16 Bryan Station (3-1) at Lafayette (0-5), 6:30 p.m.: The Defenders rolled over city rival Tates Creek last week, 42-0 and have won three in a row.

▪ Tates Creek (1-4) at No. 13 Lexington Catholic (4-1), 7:30 p.m.: The Knights tune up against Creek and then get a bye before taking on district rival and defending 4A champion Boyle County on Oct. 8.

▪ Russell (3-2) at Paul Laurence Dunbar (1-4), 7:30 p.m.: The Bulldogs look to right the ship against Class 4A’s Red Devils after being shut out by Scott County last week and hitting a four-game skid.

▪ Harlan (2-2) at Sayre (4-0), 7:30 p.m.: The Spartans begin their tour through eastern Kentucky schools that also will include Williamsburg, Pikeville, Hazard and Phelps in the coming weeks.

▪ Bye week: Henry Clay.

Should be a good one

▪ Bourbon County (2-2) at Ashland Blazer (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

▪ Danville (3-2) at Hazard (3-2), 7:30 p.m.

▪ Collins (3-1) at Madison Southern (1-4), 7:30 p.m.

▪ Crittenden County (2-2) at Union County (4-1), 7 p.m.

▪ Pulaski County (2-3) at Whitley County (1-3), 7:30 p.m.

Check Kentucky.com on Friday for the latest audio and video streaming information for your favorite team.